Effects of cocktail therapy on cell proliferation and Collagen I and TIMP-1 mRNA expression in rat hepatic stellate cells

AIM: To investigate the effects of cocktail therapy on cell proliferation and collagen I (Col I) and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-1 (TIMP-1) mRNA expression in rat hepatic stellate cells. METHODS: Hepatic stellate cells (HSC-T6) cultured in vitro were exposed to taurine (taurine group), epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG; EGCG group), genistein (genistein group), and a combination of these three drugs (cocktail-treated group) for 24 h, respectively. Cell proliferation was determined by methyl thiazol tetrazolium (MTT) assay. The expression of Col Ⅰ and TIMP-1 mRNAs was measured by semi-quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). RESULTS: Cell proliferation was significantly inhibited in the taurine group, EGCG group, genistein group and cocktail-treated group compared with the control group (0.237 ± 0.007, 0.216 ± 0.009, 0.242 ± 0.008 and 0.130 ± 0.004 vs 0.452 ± 0.011, respectively; all P＜0.05). The reduced rate of cell proliferation was more significant in the cocktail-treated group than in other treatment groups (all P＜0.05). The expression levels of Col I and TIMP-1 mRNAs markedly decreased in all treatment groups when compared with the control group (all P＜0.05). The expression levels of Col Ⅰ and TIMP-1 mRNAs were significantly lower in the cocktail-treated group than in other treatment groups (P＜0.05). CONCLUSION: Cocktail therapy significantly inhibits cell proliferation and down-regulates Col Ⅰ and TIMP-1 mRNA expression in HSCs. Cocktail therapy may be more effective than monotherapy in the treatment of liver fibrosis.